Klain, Ronald

Bio

Ronald Klain has been appointed by President Obama as the 'Ebola czar' to coordinate administration policy in response to the appearance of the disease in the U.S. This isn't Klain's first role in government, nor is Obama's the first administration for which he's worked. Previously, he was counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee for four years and chief of staff for former Attorney General Janet Reno, Vice President Al Gore and, most recently, Vice President Biden.

He has also spent time in the private sector as executive vice president at Revolution LLC, a venture capital firm, and as president of Case Holdings, the company that manages AOL Chairman Steve Case's charitable and business interests.

During his time as a partner at O'Melveny & Myers, Klain was general counsel to Gore's recount committee in the aftermath of the 2000 election. He has lobbied for a variety of companies, among them Time Warner, Fannie Mae, and US Airways. Since 2001, Klain and his wife have contributed exclusively to Democrats, giving a total of $24,000, including $1,000 in 2006 to then Senator Obama.

During his time as Biden's chief of staff he helped oversee the allocation of stimulus funds, a task that in its breadth and complexity resembles the Ebola response coordination he'll be in charge of in his new role. He has little experience in the health care field beyond policy, though Revolution invested in several healthcare companies while he was there, including BrainScope, Everyday Health and Extend Health. As the Ebola czar, he will report to Lisa Monaco, homeland security adviser to President Obama, and Susan Rice, national security adviser.

For registered lobbyists, employment histories may be incomplete prior to
1998 because the Senate Office of Public Records does not make registrations
and reports available electronically for those years.

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